Borderlands not to be cel-shaded

Developer Gearbox have confirmed that their upcoming new shooter Borderlands will be going through something of a change of art style, the firm confirming the title will now be present in a cel-shaded, comic book style.

Apparently, the development team have been leaning towards cel-shaded presentation since the game was first unveiled to the public back in 2007.

"We do care about all our fans, no doubt, and the decision to alter the art style was assuredly not one taken or made lightly... Though there's always the chance some people could be turned off by the style, it was decided that, overall, it fits the game and creates a more visually interesting experience," a community manager explained on the official forums.

"The entire world has life to it, from the creatures to the very rocks and dirty walls," Ennui tells us in the update. "The game world is no less gritty, dirty, or harsh - all of the detail is there, and the environments have even more atmosphere. We solicited feedback from our focus testing initiative, which consists entirely of a very large pool of gamers from all walks of life, and in the end, the choice was clear for us."

We're promised a look at this new presentation soon.

Update: It appears this community manager rather jumped the gun, here. Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford having now played down this cel-shaded report: "No, Borderlands is not cel-shaded - it's a gritty and serious world after all," we hear this morning.

"But since the game was first unveiled we have made big advancements with the art direction and the technology to support the art and have produced some pretty impressive, even shocking results."